Guy's 28 Years of Birthday Whisky Now Worth a Down Payment

On the occasion of their first birthday, most kids get a cake with a cartoon character du jour on it and some toys they'll never remember. On the occasion of Matthew Robson's first birthday, dad Pete got him an 18-year-old bottle of Macallan single malt whisky, which you best believe is love in a bottle, but probably not what most people would consider an appropriate gift for a little kid. But as the BBC reports, Pete Robson, of England, made it a tradition every birthday, at a cost to him of around $6,600 over the years. "I thought it would be interesting if I bought one every year and he'd end up with 18 bottles of 18-year-old whisky for his 18th birthday," says Pete Robson.

Now, with nary a bottle opened, 28-year-old Matthew has a collection worth a little north of $52,000—one that he's cashing in to help buy a house. "The value of Macallan has risen massively over the last five to 10 years," says the whisky broker who's selling the collection, citing interest mainly from New York and Asia. "To have such a vast collection of bottles is the real selling point of these." (More whisky stories.)